4.  The applicant, Mrs Tatiana Guţu, is a Moldovan national who was born in 1952 and lives in the village of Cojuşna.
5.  Her minor son M., who was twelve years old at the time of the events, was frequently suspected of committing petty thefts and was taken to the police station on numerous occasions. No criminal proceedings were ever instituted against him because of his age. On several occasions he complained about being beaten up by police officers R.D. and I.B. and his mother lodged criminal complaints against them. On 28 December 2001 the applicant complained to the Prosecutor's Office that on 4 December 2001 her son had been ill-treated by police officers R.D. and I.B., as a result of which he had sustained concussion and multiple bruises.
6.  On Sunday 30 December 2001 at noon, police officer R.D. came to the applicant's house and demanded that her son accompany him to the police station because he was suspected of being involved in a theft from a neighbour, which had taken place on 29 December 2001. According to the Government, the police officer demanded that both the applicant and her son accompany him to the police station. The applicant refused to let her son go unless he was properly summonsed.
7.  A quarter of an hour later the same police officer came to her house accompanied by police officer I.B. and two neighbours. Since the gate was locked, the police officers asked one neighbour to climb over and unlock it from the inside.
8.  One of the police officers announced to the applicant that she was being taken to the police station on a charge of committing the administrative offence of disobeying the lawful orders of a police officer, provided for by Article 174 § 1 of the Code of Administrative Offences (“the CAO”).
9.  The applicant was taken by the two police officers to the village police station. They did not let her change her clothes or slippers, although she did put on a coat.
10.  On the way to the police station, according to statements of witnesses, as they appear in the domestic case file, the applicant was attacked by the neighbour who was the victim of the alleged theft and fell down during the altercation. The police officers intervened and handcuffed the applicant. The Government argued that the applicant had attacked her neighbour and that her fall was a result of the altercation.
11.  When they arrived at the police station she was asked to sign a declaration written by one of the police officers, but she refused. Two witnesses, who came along with them, signed declarations written by the police officers, allegedly without reading them.
12.  She was then taken by car to the town of Străşeni and placed in a cell at the local remand centre, where she was held from 8 p.m. on 30 December 2001 until 10 a.m. on 31 December 2001.
13.  While in detention she was not given the opportunity to wash herself or to change her clothes. She was not provided with food or water or with a blanket. She was not questioned, informed about the reasons for her detention or provided with a lawyer.
14.  On Monday 31 Decembe  2001 the applicant was taken to the Străşeni District Court for the hearing in respect of the alleged offence of disobeying the lawful orders of a police officer in accordance with Article 174 § 1 of the CAO.
15.  According to the applicant, she was taken to the court wearing her slippers and her clothes, still covered in mud. During the hearing the applicant asked for a lawyer and a pro bono lawyer was provided to her.
16.  At her lawyer's request the hearing was adjourned until 4 January 2002. On 4 January 2002, witnesses were heard by the judge.
17.  In a judgment of 4 January 2002 the Stăşeni District Court found the applicant guilty of disobeying the lawful orders of the police officers and imposed a fine of 90 Moldovan Lei (MDL) (the equivalent of 7.6 euros (EUR) at the time). The Court found that on 30 December 2001 at noon two police officers had asked the applicant to come with her minor son to the police station in order to be questioned in connection with a theft in which her son was suspected of having been involved. By refusing to accompany the police officers, she had committed the offence provided for in Article 174 § 1 of the CAO.
18.  On 11 January 2002 criminal proceedings were formally instituted in respect of the theft allegedly committed by the applicant's son.
19.  On an unspecified date the applicant lodged an appeal on points of law with the Chişinău Regional Court against the judgment of 4 January 2002. She submitted, inter alia, that the actions of the police officers had been motivated by a desire for revenge following her complaint lodged with the Prosecutor's Office against them on 28 December 2001 in connection with the unauthorised search and the alleged beating of her son. She also submitted that the police officers' orders were unlawful because she had not been summonsed to appear at the police station; however, when the police officers had insisted that she follow them she had not shown any resistance and had obeyed them.
20.  On 16 January 2002 the Chişinău Regional Court heard the applicant's appeal in her absence and dismissed it as being unfounded, without stating any reasons. It appears from the case file that the applicant was not summonsed to appear before the court and was not legally represented during the proceedings.
21.  On 2 January and 25 October 2002 the applicant complained to the Prosecutor General's Office about the illegal actions of the two police officers. She argued, inter alia, that they had illegally entered the front garden of her house and that they had subjected her to inhuman and degrading treatment, and asked the Prosecutor General's Office to institute criminal proceedings against them.
22.  On 25 November 2002 the Prosecutor's Office decided not to institute criminal proceedings. It found that since the applicant had been convicted by a final judgment of the offence of disobeying the lawful orders of police officers, the officers' actions could not be considered illegal.